The invention relates to a channel selection device used in a television for receiving a digital/analog broadcast, and a broadcasting receiver equipped with the same.
In current digital broadcasting, various broadcasting signals carrying a variety of contents are output through many channels. For example, not less than 100 channels are used in broadcasting by the North America digital broadcasting standard of ATSC (Advanced Television Systems Committee), to originate, besides a conventional analog broadcast, digital broadcasts such as a BS (Broadcasting Satellite) digital broadcast and a CS (Communication Satellite) digital broadcast which are capable of high picture-quality and multi-channel broadcasting, each of which digital broadcasts is originated by a carrier wave of a predetermined frequency band through a physical channel different from that of an analog broadcast.
With more channels used in such a manner, it takes time and labor more for the user to change the channel using the channel UP/DOWN key in order to reach a desired channel if he changes the channel number upward or downward one by one. To guard against it, there is known such a channel selection device available that, when an operation instruction is given continuous, changes a selection frequency greatly at a time to thereby reach a desired frequency in a short time (see, for example, Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2000-244284). As for such a channel selection operation, an example where the time for the channel to be changed is decreased as time passes by is shown in FIG. 3A and another example where the number of the channel to be skipped is increased as time passes by is shown in FIG. 3B.
In the channel selection operation, however, the channel changing speed changes as time passes by when the operation is given continuous, so that an unskilled user cannot guess the channel changing speed owing to an excessively short channel changing time or an excessively many skipped channels, so that he may pass over his desired channel readily and feel uncomfortable in use.
The present invention is made to solve the above-mentioned problems and, it is an object of the invention to provide such an easy-to-use channel selection device for use in broadcasting receivers and a broadcasting receiver equipped with the same that is constant in channel changing speed with passing time when a user changes the channel so that the user, even if he is unskilled, can guess the changing channel and reach his desired channel in a short time.
In accordance with an aspect of the present invention, a channel selection device used in a broadcasting receiver, comprises: a receiving section for receiving an encoded digital/analog broadcasting signal originated from a broadcasting station; a digital/analog decoder for decoding the digital/analog broadcasting signal received from the receiving section and then outputting the signal to a display device for displaying an image; a control unit for controlling the sections of the receiver; and an input device for inputting a user""s instruction for channel selection to the control unit, wherein: the control unit controls the device so that, when having received the channel selection instruction from the input device, a display device displays a selected channel number and the receiving section receives the broadcasting signal of the selected channel; characterized in that, the control unit, in channel changing on the basis of operations of a channel UP/DOWN key provided on the input device, each time the key is pressed, changes the channel number upward/downward by one and, when the key is continuously held down at least for a predetermined time lapse, clears the first digit of the channel number to 0 to thereafter change the channel number upward/downward by 10 every constant time lapse.
In the device of the invention, each time the channel UP/DOWN key is pressed for changing the channel, the channel number is immediately changed upward/downward by one and, when this key is held down continuously at least for a predetermined time lapse (e.g., one second or so), the first digit of the channel number is cleared to 0 so that the channel number is changed upward/downward by 10 every constant time lapse (e.g., 0.3 second). Thus, the channel number changes by 10 every constant lapse of time, thus providing a constant changing speed with passing time. The user can change the channel number upward/downward as confirming its changing state visually on a display to thereby easily guess a time required to reach his desired channel and actually reach it easily and in a short time.
In the device of the invention, when the UP/DOWN key is operated for changing a predetermined value, almost the same actions as above can be obtained by holding the key down for at least a predetermined time lapse. This device, therefore, can be applied not only to channel selection but also to, for example, time setting to make reservation for recording a broadcast program.